This is actually (and surprisingly) a very, very good team -- injuries apart. But many fans went into the season expecting a "bridge" year, and then the injuries hit -- and fairly early, not in August as in '78 and '06 (the other really good teams derailed by injuries). The only impact of the Celts, apart from a few weeks of distraction, is that the Sox look like more of the same. (And of course the NBA finals, like the World Cup, were so bad as to discredit the sport, so that might yet be a plus for baseball.)

The other problem with the Sox is that they are, after all, a team without stars. I love Pedroia's game, Youkilis is pretty good, Beltre's having a good year, but these are not among the big stars of the game. (Ortiz is still the big name.) Lester's excellent, but Beckett's the star pitcher nominally, and his career is unlikely to be as good as Derek Lowe's. Last year's team was deeply unlikable; this year we've seen a few of our guys, some second-rate free agents, and callups from Pawtucket and Portland (bear in mind that our best minor league position player and our best minor league pitcher went down in April.)

Nobody likes Cameron. Nobody likes Scutaro, steady as he may be. Nobody likes Drew. Nobody likes Lackey. Everyone assumes Beltre and Martinez are gone after this year. It's nice to see Ortiz, Varitek, and Lowell, when healthy, hit some, but basically they're done.

Here's the deal: If you have Manny Ramirez, in his prime, you sell out 500+ straight games. And it helps to have Martinez and Schilling, and to be in contention. This team is the Toronto Blue Jays.